Shloka 9
Haṃsa–Sādhya Saṃvāda: Satya, Dama, Kṣamā and the Discipline of Speech
भार्या पुत्रवतीं वृद्धां लालितां पुत्रवत्सलाम् | ज्ञात्वा प्रजहि कालेन परार्थमनुदृश्य च,'पत्नी पुत्रवती होकर वृद्ध हो गयी। अब पुत्रगण उसका पालन करते हैं और वह भी पुत्रोंपर पूर्ण वात्सल्य रखती है, यह जानकर परम पुरुषार्थ मोक्षको अपना लक्ष्य बनाकर यथासमय उसका परित्याग कर दे”
bhāryā putravatīṁ vṛddhāṁ lālitāṁ putravatsalām | jñātvā prajahi kālena parārtham anudṛśya ca ||
Bhīṣma said: “When you know that your wife has grown old after bearing sons—cherished and cared for by those sons, and herself full of motherly affection toward them—then, keeping the highest human end (liberation) in view, renounce attachment and depart at the proper time.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
When family responsibilities are fulfilled—children are grown and able to care for the household—one should cultivate detachment and, keeping mokṣa as the supreme aim, withdraw from clinging to domestic life at the appropriate time.
Bhīṣma is instructing on dharma and life-stages: he describes a situation where the wife is old and supported by sons, and advises timely renunciation—shifting one’s focus from household duties to the pursuit of liberation.